Richmond Police testing use of body cameras

Richmond Police Officer Anthony Diaz, left, looks at fellow officer Phillip Sanchez’s body camera. Sanchez, right, is one of four officers selected to test body cameras for the department before they issue them to all patrol officers. (Photo by: Kevin N. Hume)

A motorcyclist sped down Cutting Boulevard at 50 mph the evening of Oct. 9, heading straight into the path of a sedan turning left from 29th Street. The sedan driver didn’t see the motorcycle coming. With little time to react, the motorcyclist crashed into the car and flew over the handlebars. The man lay about 40 feet away from the crash site.

Within minutes, Richmond Police Officer Phillip Sanchez was the first to arrive on scene. The motorcyclist was unable to move because of major injuries sustained to his lower body. Sanchez switched on his camera and began recording the scene for evidence.

“You could see the motorcyclist still on the ground with … debris all over the place and people in the street trying to treat him,” said Sanchez, describing the footage his belt-mounted camera recorded. “It was interesting to replay it and see how it [the camera] captured the entire event from the beginning. It was useful to go back and look at some of that.”

At the beginning of October, four Richmond Police Officers began testing body cameras while out on patrol for the first time, evaluating which of three models would work best for the department.